New-Look US Foreign Corruption Enforcement to Take Shape in 2016

The US Justice Department's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit is adding 10 new staff members in 2016 with the objective/aim of going after "high impact" cases and increasing the transparency of FCPA prosecutions.

"When you have a unit the size it is now and you only bring a handful of cases, you kind of wonder what’s coming," said White & Case partner Kate Hamann, a former member of the FCPA unit. "I think there is pressure to justify the resources by bringing the cases."

The Wall Street Journal reports that defense lawyers have expressed concern about the Justice Department re-calibrating its approach to cases, saying its new approach incentivizing total cooperation could set too high of a bar to meet.